Gunther was forced to make a character-altering change in WWE, veteran explains why (Exclusive)

Gunther is considered to be one of the strongest names on the WWE roster today, and for good reason. However, he had to significantly change his wrestling style after joining the company, according to veteran journalist Bill Apter.

The Ring General is often seen using chops and hard strikes in the squared circle, which is very different from what he used to do in Europe. Apter thinks this is due to the difference in the audience's expectations. The Hall of Famer feels the Austrian changed his wrestling style to gain popularity among fans in the US.

On the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine, hosted by Mac Davis, Apter said the following about the RAW Superstar:

"Gunther is a fine professional wrestler. He wrestles European style. But I think the WWE Universe is not really into that European style, so he had to change what he was doing in Europe to be entertaining to the fans here, and they love the tough contact and the chops. They really like that. He is getting a reaction. Where you put somebody in an armlock, or something, or in a leglock for six minutes, they'd probably boo him out of the building." [From 2:49 onwards]

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Teddy Long on Gunther using chops in WWE

According to Teddy Long, Gunther's chops are reminiscent of Ric Flair's signature move. The Hall of Famer thinks the Austrian needs to switch things up in the ring to create his own identity.

On the same episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine, Long explained how using a move associated with Flair can impact The Ring General's career.

"So sometimes (...) Some guy's signature move or whatever, sometimes that's not a good thing to do. So I don't know, I think Gunther should have just developed something on his own, when people would think [of] Gunther and not anybody else." [From 1:20 onwards]

It remains to be seen what Gunther plans to do next after his loss to CM Punk at WWE SummerSlam 2025.

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